


Secrets

by PoemAboutCitylights



Category: Tennis RPF
Genre: Cuddling, Fluff, M/M, Roland Garros, Sharing a Bed, fear of spiders
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-02
Updated: 2019-06-02
Packaged: 2020-04-06 13:01:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,048
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19063234
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PoemAboutCitylights/pseuds/PoemAboutCitylights
Summary: Rafael Nadal is afraid of spiders.The rest is history.





	Secrets

_Rafael Nadal is afraid of spiders.  
And apparently, Parisian hotels aren't worth all the money they're paying for them._

Those two things were what Roger Federer found himself thinking about the night before his fourth round match at Roland Garros, unable to find some sleep and get the rest he desperately needed.  
He shouldn't lie here, wide awake in a state of terror, staring at the ceiling of his suite while his breath is coming short, sweat staring to form on his forehead.  
He should be fast asleep, dead to the world, relaxing his muscles and - more importantly- his mind.

_Rafael Nadal is afraid of spiders._

He shook his head, a gesture of defeat and disbelief, while he managed to hold back an ironic sigh, a huff of breath that would echo from the walls of his dark room.  
It was a quiet night, or rather; a night as quiet as it gets in Paris, as he heard sirens haunting the streets of the French capital city now and then.  
There was no rain which soothing rhythm could lull him to sleep, no live music being played somewhere outside to distract his mind.

_Rafael Nadal is afraid of spiders._

He should have known, probably.  
That of all the things Roger had faced and overcome throughout his life, spiders would manage to defeat him in the end. That Rafael Nadal's fear of them would be the end of him one day.

_Rafael Nadal is afraid of spiders._

He felt how his fingers grab the edge of his sheet, holding onto them tightly while he was trying his best to get his breathing under control.  
_In and out_ , he told himself all over again, _in and out, just go with the flow_.

_Rafael Nadal is afraid of spiders._

That fact alone shouldn't bother him. Who cared what Rafa was afraid of? The guy was afraid of driving cars, for fucks sake, Roger probably should have expected that spiders weren't so far down that list, either.  
But what _did_  bother him was the result of it.

_Rafael Nadal is afraid of spiders._

The result being a vey tall, very warm body spooning Roger from behind.

_Rafael Nadal is afraid of spiders._

Strong arms wrapped around Roger's frame, a nose nuzzled against the Swiss' neck, hot breaths ghosting over the older man's skin.

_Rafael Nadal is afraid of spiders.  
And apparently, he's a cuddler on top._

Roger closed his eyes, tried to focus on anything - everything - that wasn't his biggest rival - his favourite rival - wrapping himself around him, limps all tangled up in warmth and bliss and all the pure things of this world, like puppies and sunshine and ice cream on hot summer days.  
Except, there was nothing _pure_ about the way Roger was reacting to having Rafa this close.

_Rafael Nadal is afraid of spiders._

Rafa, who had shown up at his doorstep somewhere around midnight, with flushed cheeks and a downcast glance. With an accent that was much stronger than usual, indicating that he was insecure about what he had been about to ask next.  
Rafa, who had then told him about the big spider sitting right above his bed - " _I swear, Roger, is as big as tennis ball, no_!".

"Ehm," Roger had answered, forgetting to blink for a whole minute straight.  
"Ehm," he had then repeated, frowning while his glance was drifting from Rafa back to the king size bed he had been sleeping in, wondering if he had guessed where this was heading correctly.  
"Can't you share with Carlos? Or, I don't know, get a new room? Or have someone remove the spider?"  
Rafa had shaken his head, shoulders falling down.  
185cm of muscles and willpower looking like they had been deflated.  
"Carlos is asleep, rooms are all rented and I not can know if there is more spiders, no?"  
"How do you know there are no spiders in my room, then?"  
Rafa took a quick look around the room, shrugging.  
"Looks clean, no? You not seen a spider here before, no?"  
Roger sighed, stifling a yawn.  
"Come in, Rafa."

_Rafael Nadal is afraid of spiders._

Roger swallowed hard, tried to think of press conferences and rain delays and messy locker rooms - but then he had to think of _Rafa_  in a messy locker room and that was that.  
He wondered if Rafa was using a new tactic on him.  
If he and Carlos or - much more likely - uncle Toni had seen right through him and had come up with this devious plan to drive Roger insane.  
But then again, the soft snores coming from the Majorcan were proof enough that he was fast asleep.  
Not a new tactic, then.  
And then Roger wonders if Rafa was always this cuddly when sharing a bed with someone and an unexpected wave of jealousy hit him.  
Instead of overthinking Rafa's battle plan, he should probably face the fact that the Spaniard had no idea what he was doing at the moment, that his subconscious was playing tricks on him.  
Which - as a consequence - would make it more than just awkward when Rafa would eventually wake up and realize that he had turned Roger Federer into the small spoon.  
Roger wondered whether he'd be able to blackmail Rafa with this.  
But he had to admit that Rafa would be able to use this against him just as well, considering how much the Swiss was enjoying it.  
Maybe he should sneak out of Rafa's arms as long as the younger man was still asleep, maybe he should just get up and run, to the next airport perhaps and - ...

"Shh."  
Roger almost screamed when he felt warm lips moving against his neck.  
"Shh," Rafa made again, "you too loud, Rogelio."  
"I haven't said a thing," Roger replied, panic rising in his chest.  
"No, your thoughts. They too loud."  
Rafa's arm that was wrapped around Roger's chest pulled him closer and the Swiss held his breath.  
"You like this," Rafa eventually whispered, not as a question but a statement.  
"That was supposed to remain a secret," Roger mumbled back, cheeks heating in embarrassment.  
"You want to hear secret of me?" Rafa asked into the darkness, fingers sliding over Roger's.  
The older one nodded, drawing in a shaky breath.  
"I'm not afraid of spiders."

 

**Author's Note:**

> Sooo a friend of mine who is genuinely afraid of spiders inspired me to write this :)
> 
> Pleade tell me what you think of this or leave kudos <3


End file.
